Holy Cow IPA | The Alchemist Pub & Brewery

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User Ratings & Reviews

Five hops and six malts undisclosed. Big head, nice bitter. 85 IBU. A choice of a session ale. Bitterness offset by malt in a nice smooth balance. Better than average IPA and finishes crisp and clean as all of this pub's beers.

Two and a half years later and still as great, with even more good looks from a white soapy head on cloudy orange.

Pours a nice, slightly-hazed orange color with a three-finger off-white head and an explosion of lacing as it goes down my glass. Then, the nose--holy crap are there a lot of hops in this way. The nose itself is incredibly bitter and brings forward a strong force of citrus hops with a bit of pine as well.

The flavor backs off a bit. There is just an unending amount of bitterness coming through in the feel, though the taste doesn't quite hit the high not belonging to the mouthfeel and the aroma, as the hop flavors don't really pop and it turns into a bit of an IBU bomb without the flavor to back it up. Still, a really nice beer and a pretty good substitute for not getting to try Heady Topper, though I'll be back looking for that.

Appearance - hazy copper colour with an average size frothy white coloured head. There is a low amount of carbonation showing and there is some good lacing. The head lasted for around 4 minutes before it was gone.

Smell - Malts, caramel, hops, oranges, pine

Taste & Mouth - There is a slightly below average amount of carbonation and I can taste malts, caramel and a decent amount of hops. There is also quite a bit of a citrus fruit juiciness - oranges and grapefruits and a touch of pine. The beer finishes with a fruity sweet aftertaste with lingering dry hop bitterness.

Overall - A better than average IPA that i would be happy to have again any time. It reminded me a little bit of a better tasting Dale's Pale Ale. Worth seeking out.

A-Looks a lot like Rapture. Pretty darker color. Great head. I'm surprised at how dark the color is. I dig it. Lacing everywhere. Great presentation in the glass too.

S-The Alchemist does not play around with the hops. They mean business. This one is incredibly hoppy too. Tropical hoppiness. Decent balance too. Aromatic and fragrant.

T-Flavor for days. Hoppy and fresh, but still a delectable malt backbone. There is a bunch of fresh cut grass in the flavor. Herbal and delicious. Quite like Rapture. I can tell by one glass how incredibly sessionable this flavor is. Simply delicious and cut out of the Alchemist's mold.

M-Still pretty big for a %5.2 brew. How did they pack this much flavor into this? A bunch of bubbles and a dry aftertaste. Good, lasting bitterness.

O/D-Don't let the bigger brews fool you. This one is an absolute ace on its own. Would kill to have this regularly. Tropical and grassy hops blow me away. Cannot say enough about this brewery and their amazing IPA. And once again, cheap for a glass.

On-tap at the Alchemist on 1/5/2011. Pours a dull orange with a hazy clarity and a rocky, half inch bright white head that gradually dissipates into a fairly consistent skim. Thick, textured bands of lacing were revealed during the tasting. Nose expresses huge, sweet citrus aromas with a barely detectable kiss of earthy bitterness at the back. Flavor profile starts with a strong, earthy bitterness that reasserts itself at the finish. Middle reveals some citric acid with just the merest suggestion of citrus sweetness. There's also a slightly grassy quality interspersed in the mix. Mouthfeel is light-medium in consistency with an even carbonation and some astringency that lightly stimulates the salivary glands along the cheeks. This is a top notch IPA; one of the most memorable I've had to date. Slightly on the bitter side of the spectrum for my normal tastes; however, this is an extremely drinkable IPA nonetheless.

This beer poured a nice copper/amber color with minimal carbonation. The aroma was one of citrus and hops with some grassiness. The flavor was satisfactory with a nice bitterness up front and throughout the beer. Pretty damn fine for an IPA and this goes to show that The Alchemist makes THE best damn IPAs in Vermont. Period.

I had this wonderful IPA on my way to this year's Vermont Brewer's Festival. In a pint glass the beer was an amber color with a thick white head and some decent lacing. Big hops aroma: citrus and floral. Mostly a grapefruit taste, a little pine, and a good malt background. A well-balanced beer.

This was the first bier I enjoyed during a long weekend exploring northern Vermont with Alewife. Scored a pint whilst sitting at the bar... Poured a medium golden color, perhaps a touch of copper there too. Liquid was slightly cloudy, and the head was thin, white and creamy, leaving nice lace. Aroma sugested a touch of malt sweetness along with a healthy dose of citrus. Body was a solid medium, and the bier, not being highly carbonated, passed nicely on the tongue.

Holy cow! There's lots of citrus here, and the 6 malts used did lend a nice base upon which the hops were heaped. The major force playing in the flavor is the citrus, with a super grapefruit component. Despite the hops, this is really not an unbalanced bier. The malt has a good presence with all the hopping going on. Very nice brew...

This is the first pint I enjoyed at “The Alchemist” before switching to Mortal Sin (a superior beer) Don’t get me wrong, this is a fine IPA and one I would gladly enjoy again, but if Mortal Sin is on the next tap.. the choice is clear.

The pint came with a creamy bright white head that stood about 2 fingers tall. Nice retention and quite a bit of thick lace. The beer was a hazy dull amber color with a orange sunset quality to it.

Aroma was fresh, light grassy and very herbal.

Flavor was interesting. Lots of components with a bready base at it’s core. Also notes of grape, grapefruit pith with lots of grassy & herbal notes.

A: Pours bright orange, very hazy, with nearly 2 fingers of slightly off-white head (foamy). Leaves a lot of lacing covering most of the glass.

S: Holy Cow! Citrus and tropical fruits are bursting out of the glass: tangerine, mango, grapefruit, etc. Really "orange" and bright smelling with a touch of floral and herbal qualities. It's like opening a fresh bag of really citrus-forwards hops.

T: Does the nose follow over? Yep! Just short of an all out hop assault: tons of that great citrus with good balance (floral and herbal notes) and enough pine resin to give a good wallop of bitterness. The malt base is lightly toasted with a decent amount of crystal malt. The hop flavors last long through the finish without really budging. Fairly dry and bitter finish with an awesome hoppy aftertaste.

M: Medium body, slightly high carbonation, very resinous. Has a fairly crisp finish, but does have a bit more sweetness than a really dry IPA. A little balance.

O: I've heard a lot about these big, citrus-forward killer IPAs, but they for the most part have been fairly elusive. This really fits the mold for my perfect IPA. Stone IPA I find too herbal, Alesmith wasn't intense/bitter/citrus enough, etc etc. This was one the spot. The most amazing thing to me is that ABV. I could drink this baby all day if I had easier access.

On cask. Pours a cloudy orange color with a thick head. Tons of lacing. Aroma is of pine and hoppy grapefruit. Flavor is a nice piney bitterness with some citrus, thinking maybe orange. Creamy mouthfeel thanks to the cask. I'd be interested to have this one on tap rather than cask but I'm digging the cask and couldn't pass up the chance. Overall it's a very good IPA and has a nice bitter citrus quality too it but it is very subtle. Reminds me of DFH Johnny Cask but not quite as good. Worth having again for sure.

Drank on-tap at The Alchemist Pub & Brewery, Waterbury, VT
Served in a rounded, stemless glass

Beautiful appearance. Deep crimson-amber and quite hazy, with a one-plus finger tall head of off-white, meringue-like froth. The head slowly dissipated, leaving thick rings of lacing along the glass.

The nose was quite hoppy yet balanced. Candied orange peel was most noticeable. Grapefruit notes were apparent as well. The hoppiness was well matched by a mix of both biscuit and caramel-like malts. Some tropical fruits were also detectible.

Lots of fruity hop notes also came through in the flavor profile. The taste was initially much like the nose. Candy dipped orange peel and rich malts dominated the front end. As the beer moved along the palate however, strong, pithy, bitter grapefruit notes took over. The beer finished ultra dry and resiny with lingering notes of pine sap.

The mouthfeel was a bit weak for the style. It was lighter bodied with a finely bubbled yet semi-aggressive effervescence. The liquid felt a bit airy on my palate.

I love hoppy IPAs but the finish on this was quite harsh and really took away from many of the beer's better characteristics.

Off the tap at the charismatic joint I found this beer to be a amber color, slightly hazy with some visible carbonation. White head, little retention and spotty lacing. The aromas were nice and all hops, piney hops, citrus hops, herbal hops. The flavors were spot-on, grapefruit, strong pine and resin, green grass and a solid malt backbone behind it. Superb balance. Very drinkable and a fantastic example of the style.

Hazy golden with auburn highlights beneath a creamy, half-inch white head. Webbed and condensed lacing with good strength. Aromas of citrus and tropical fruit: grapefruit, apricot, lemon, and orange, with hints of pine. Citrus hops initially over a stable, toasted malt breadiness. Notes of must balanced with fresh pine and tropical fruity esters. Medium in body; juicy with a mild oily character. A solid representative of what an American IPA is. Nothing excessive, but very depictive of the style.

So glad I made the trip up her. Totally worth it. Another solid ipa from the Alchemist. Slightly under el jefe as far as taste is concerned but still a great ipa. Not quite as full and flavorfull especially in terms of the fruit coming through. This is being picky though. I could go through a bunch of these.

This beer pours a golden straw color, with a fingers worth of head that dissipates leaving lacing on the glass. The smell is earthy hops with a hint of citrus. The taste is a little more hop flavor leaning towards the pine and less towards citrus notes. it almost makes my mouth water just thinking about how this beer tasted, and how easily it went down. if your at the alchemist definitely try this beer before heady or it just won't taste the same.